Virtual College of Texas (VCT)

Cisco College participates in the Virtual College of Texas. VCT is a consortium of fifty Texas community colleges. Through VCT, you may register at Cisco College (the Host) to take online courses from other Texas colleges (the Providers). All VCT courses are delivered through the Provider college’s Learning Management System. VCT provides students with the following benefits:

To withdraw from a VCT course, send an email to vct@cisco.edu. Provide a brief reason for the withdrawal. The VCT Coordinator will drop you from the Provider College. You will be responsible for dropping the course in Campus Connect.

VCT courses follow the same withdrawal dates and requirements as regular Cisco College courses.

Which courses can I request through VCT?

You can take any course that is available in the Cisco College Catalog, with a couple of exceptions:

If Cisco College is currently offering the course online and space is available, you cannot take it as a VCT course.

At this time, Cisco College does not permit enrollment in science classes with online labs through VCT.

How much does a VCT course cost?

VCT courses follow the same tuition rate as an online class through Cisco College, plus a $50 nonrefundable fee.

Where can I find the VCT course schedule?

Visit the state VCT website for the course schedule. Select the semester from the drop-down menu. Full semester courses are available under “standard.” All other semester lengths are under “variable.”

How do I know if the VCT course I want is available?

Next to the course listing, check that there are spaces available and that the last day to register has not passed. (This date is only the Provider College’s date. At Cisco College, we also have a deadline for submitting VCT requests. See below.)

When is the deadline to submit a VCT request?

Requests should be made at least one week before the Cisco College semester start date.

When will I know if my request is approved?

After the form is submitted, the VCT Coordinator will begin the process, which can take 10-15 business days.

If the course is approved, you will receive two confirmation emails. The first will be confirmation that the course has been reserved through VCT. It will include information from the Provider College, such as details about textbooks and accessing the course. The second will be a confirmation that you are registered through Campus Connect with Cisco College.

If the course is not approved, you will receive an email from the VCT Coordinator.

What other information should I consider about a VCT course?

You will not be taking the course through Cisco College’s Canvas platform. Instead, you will use the online learning tool used by the Provider College, which could be Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, etc. After registering for the course, the Provider College will provide you with information (including login instructions) for their platform.

When deciding on a course, review the start and end dates, as they could be slightly different from Cisco College semester dates.

Review the course syllabus for textbook information or other requirements.

Many VCT courses will require proctored exams. Depending on the college, you may need to take them online or make arrangements with our Testing Center take them in person.